contamination
Americannoun
-
contaminations
plural
-
the act of contaminating, or of making something impure or unsuitable by contact with something unclean, bad, etc.
-
the act of contaminating, or of rendering something harmful or unusable by the addition of radioactive material.
the contamination of food following a nuclear attack.
-
the state of being contaminated.
The manufacturer recalled the product because of possible salmonella contamination.
-
Rare. something that contaminates a place or substance, as by making it impure, unsuitable, harmful, or unusable; a contaminant.
-
Linguistics.
-
an alternation in a linguistic form due to the influence of a related form, as the replacement in English of earlier femelle with female through the influence of male.
-
the process of forming blends.
-
noun
-
the act or process of contaminating or the state of being contaminated
-
something that contaminates
-
linguistics the process by which one word or phrase is altered because of mistaken associations with another word or phrase; for example, the substitution of irregardless for regardless by association with such words as irrespective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of contamination
1375–1425; late Middle English contaminacioun < Late Latin contāminātiōn- (stem of contāminātiō ), equivalent to contāmināt ( us ) ( see contaminate) + -iōn- -ion
Explanation
Contamination is the unwanted pollution of something by another substance. When a nuclear power plant leaks radiation into the atmosphere, for example, it causes a contamination of the surrounding area. Contamination can also be used to refer to abstract ideas and concepts rather than to just physical things. The French complain that the increasing adoption of English words is a contamination of their linguistic heritage, and many parents today think rap music is a contamination of the public culture.
Vocabulary lists containing contamination
This Week in Words: March 23–29, 2019
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Schooled
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
The Hot Zone
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Dr Will Mackintosh, from the Royal College of GPs Cymru, said it may be that "additional support" will be required for GPs in communities where concerns have been raised about alleged contamination in future.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
Managers improperly calibrated testing equipment and questioned results showing elevated contamination, Dixon said in her affidavit, while equipment that recorded contamination was taken out of use.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026
Water treatment and power plants struggle with ash contamination, equipment failures, lack of spare parts and overwhelming demand, disrupting essential medical and industrial processes.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026
I mean: measles, food contamination, wars, Michael Cohen, climate, education, immigration, healthcare and post partum psychosis is more than enough.
From Salon ● Sep. 18, 2026
These photographs were definite proof that the virus was multiplying in the Reston monkeys— that it was not a laboratory contamination.
From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston
Nephew said if time was short, the U.S. could also seek to dilute the material on-site by mixing it with natural uranium or destroy it, although that could cause chemical contaminations in the area.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 15, 2026
"Right now, the industry does their best to reduce those risks, but you will hear about outbreaks of these contaminations and people getting sick. There are sometimes reported deaths because of these events."
From Science Daily ● Mar. 1, 2024
Morocco on Saturday went so far as to ban all arrivals from China, regardless of nationality, “to avoid a new wave of contaminations in Morocco and all its consequences.”
From Washington Post ● Jan. 4, 2023
Across the UK new cases of HIV and hepatitis continued to be diagnosed decades after the first contaminations, resulting in many early deaths.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2022
Salmon and Trout will rapidly disappear from such rivers, never to be seen there again, so long as these noxious contaminations are permitted to flow into them.
From Essays in Natural History and Agriculture by Thomas Garnett
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
